Toilet tissue holder



April 23, 1963 s. F. POWELL TOILET TISSUE HOLDER Filed Sept. 23, 1960 2 Sheets-Sheet l ATTORNEYS April 23, 1963 s. F. POWELL TOILET TISSUE HOLDER 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Sept. 23, 1960 INVENTOR ATTORNEYS Unit atent fihce 3,085,724 Patented Apr. 23, 1963 3,086,724 TOILET TISSUE HGLDER Stanley F. Powell, Arlington, Va., assignor of one-half to Sell L. Seiko, Baltimore, Md. Filed Sept. 23, 1960, Ser. No. 58,130 Claims. (Cl. 24255.53)

This invention relates to holders for rolls of toilet tissue, and particularly to devices of this kind which are attachable to existing roll holders to contain an auxiliary part roll supply of tissues.

It has been customary in hotel operation for maid to check the toilet tissue supply in toilets each day, and, if the roll contains less than one-quarter its full supply of tissues, to remove the used roll and install a full one to ensure an adequate supply for the day. There has been no way that the part rolls could be used and they have been thrown away. This not only represents a tremendous paper waste, but result in the hotels losing the benefit of a large percentage of the money spent for toilet tissue. While hotels have been mentioned, the same will be true for motels, rooming houses and evenin private homes.

The general object of the present invention is to provide a holder for partial rolls of toilet tissue which may be attached to the conventional wall-rnounted toilet tissue holder, so that an emergency supply will be available and the roll in the conventional holder may be left until it is entirely used.

A more specific object of the invention is to provide a holder for an auxiliary supply of tissue which will enclose the roll and present a neat and attractive appearance.

Another object is the provision of a device of this type which will be attachable to the existing tissue holder without fastening means or the use of tools, and which will not interfere in. any way with the free use of the tissue roll in the existing holder.

A further object is to provide a holder of this character that will be provided with latching means and will be automatically operable to expose the tissue roll to view and for use when the latch means is released.

Yet another object is the provision of an auxiliary tissue holder which will be quite flat and occupy little space beneath a conventional holder so that its presence can be ignored during the use of a tissue roll in the conventional holder.

A still further object of the invention is to provide a holder of this nature which can be manufactured at low cost so that it may soon be paid for by the savings realized through the use of the formerly discarded partial rolls of tissue.

Other objects of the invention will become apparent from the following description of practical embodiments thereof, when taken in conjunction with the drawings which accompany, and form part of, thi specification.

In the drawings:

FIGURE 1 is a perspective view of an auxiliary toilet tissue roll holder constructed in accordance with the principles of the present invention and shown attached to a conventional holder mounted in a Wall;

FIGURE 2 is a perspective view of the auxiliary holder removed from the existing holder and in open position;

FIGURE 3 is. a vertical section taken on the line 3-3 of FIGURE 1;

FIGURE 4 is a perspective view of a modified form of the invention;

FIGURE 5 is a perspective view of the unit shown in FIGURE 4, with the unit illustrated open and ready for use;

FIGURE 6 is a vertical section taken on the line 6-6 of FIGURE 4; and

FIGURE 7 is a perspective view of a roll-mounting member suitable for use with either illustrated form of the invention.

In general, the invention contemplates the employment of an auxiliary toilet tissue holder which includes a two-piece enclosure to house a partial roll of toilet tissue, with one part of the enclosure being biased toward open position to expose the roll, and means for reasably holding the enclosure sections in closed, roll-encompassing position. The enclosure will be hung from attaching means which will enable the device to be attached to an existing toilet tissue holder in a simple manner withoutthe use of tools.

Referring to the drawings in detail, and first adverting to that form of the invention shown in FIGURES 1 to 3, there is illustrated an auxiliary holder 1 for toilet tissue depending from a conventional holder 2. The holder 2 is a permanent fixture and is usually of ceramic material and embedded in a wall at a convenient place in a toilet. The holder has a removable spindle 3 upon which a toilet tissue roll 4 having a tubular cardboard core 5 is mounted. This is the typical and familiar tissue roll'mounting.

The auxiliary holder takes the form of a housing, which includes an enclosure 6 composed of a pair of hingedly mounted enclosure members 7 and 8 and a tissue roll support 9, and mounting bracket 10 which is pivotally connected to the housing and is attachable to the existing tissue holder 2. In the form shown in FIGURES 1 to 3, the enclosure members are hingedly connected to the tissue roll support, and that support, in turn, is hingedly connected to the mounting bracket.

Enclosure member 7 forms a back wall for the housing, while the member 8 provides a cover. The back wall 7 has its upper edge, or extended portions of that edge, rolled to provide an eye 11. A hinge pin 12 passes through the eye and has its ends carried by the tissue support 9. The enclosure cover 8 is similarly rolled at its top edge to form an eye 13 to receive pin 14 also carried by support 9. Cover 8 has a keeper 15 secured to, and projecting beyond, its lower edge to form one element of a housing latch. The back wall 7 carries a ball type chain 16 which can be pulled into a notch 17 cut in the free edge of keeper 15. Notch 17 will be narrower than the diameter of the balls on the chain 16, so that when the chain is engaged in the notch the adjacent ball on the chain Will prevent the chain from slipping relative to the keeper.

The toilet tissue roll support 9 may take the form of a U-shaped frame member having a top bar 18 and depending legs 19. The hinge pins 12 and 14 will be connected to the legs of the U-frame. The legs 19 will have opposed openings 20 to receive trunnions 21 of a roll-mounting member 22 (see FIGURE 7). The rollmounting member will be a' fiat, rectangular plate having .and the cover 8 closed. Chain the trunnions 21 projecting from the centers of its opposed side edges. The plate will be considerably wider than the normal diameter of the tubular cardboard core 5 of a roll of toilet tissue, so that the roll and core will have to be flattened in order for the pate to be inserted. The plate will hold the roll in its flattened form so that the enclosure members 7 and 8 will be relatively close together and still encompass the roll. This permits the entire auxiliary holder to be quite thin to lie close against the wall beneath the existing holder. It is preferable that one leg of the roll support be slotted, as at 23, with the slot extending from the side edge of the leg to the hole 24 in that leg to permit insertion and removal of the mounting member trunnion. If the support frame is made of resilient material, the slotted opening will not be necessary as the legs of the support can be sprung apart suificiently to receive, or release, the trunnions of the mounting member.

In order to make the cover 8 automatically openable when the latch is released, a spring 24- is used. The spring may be carried on the hinge pin 14 and have its ends bear upon the top bar 18 of the roll support and the underside of the cover to exert a lifting force on the cover.

The mounting bracket consists of an attaching member which includes a tubular center section and the outwardly biased engaging legs 26. Each leg has an upturned foot 27 which may carry a friction pad 28. A suitable spring element 29 is contained within the tubular center section to urge the legs 26 away from one another. An eye 30 will be carried by the center section 25 and another eye 31 by the holder housing and a loop 32 will hingedly connect the mounting bracket to the housing.

In using the device, the cover will be opened, the rollmounting member 22 removed, and a partial tissue roll, which has been removed from an existing holder, flattened and slipped over the plate position of the member 22. The trunnions of member 22 will then be positioned in openings 20 in the legs 19 of the roll supporting frame 16 will be drawn forward and pulled upwardly into the notch 17 of keeper 15 to hold the cover inclosed position. The engaging legs 26 of the mounting bracket will be telescoped inwardly against the spring bias, and the feet 27 slipped into the existing tissue holder 2. When the legs are released, the spring will force the feet firmly against the opposite walls of the holder 2 to securely attach the auxiliary holder in position. Due to the loop mounting, the housing of the auxiliary holder will seek a position of rest flat against the wall underlying the existing tissue roll holder. As the mounting bracket lies close against the bottom and side walls of the existing holder the tissue roll in the existing holder can be used freely and without interference from the auxiliary holder, or its mounting bracket.

With the auxiliary holder loaded and in place, it will not be necessary to remove partial rolls from the regular holder as the tissues in the auxiliary holder will be available if the principal supply is exhausted. In this event, it is only necessary to pull the chain 16 and the cover 8 of the holder housing will fly up revealing the additional tissue supply. When the supply in the auxiliary holder is depleted, a partial roll may be taken from the principal holder to replenish it. By using the auxiliary holder, all waste of tissues will be eliminated, as the tissue rolls can be used in their entirety.

In FIGURES 4 to 6 a slightly modified version of the auxiliary holder has been illustrated. In this form, the back 33 and cover 34 of the enclosure are interconnected by means of a top bridging frame 35, while the tissue roll support 36 is hingedly connected along the bottom edge of the cover 34. The mounting bracket 37 is connected to the top bridging frame.

Frame is U-shaped, having a top rail 38 and depending legs 39. The back 33 is rigidly connected to the top rail of the frame, while the cover is mounted on a hinge pin 40 which is carried between the legs 39 of the top frame. A spring 4-1 on the hinge pin urges the back and cover apart.

In this form of the invention the mounting bracket will be identical with the one previously described, and only the loop of this structure has been shown in dotted lines as attached to an eye 42 carried by the top rail of the bridge frame. I

The tissue roll support 36 is a U-s'hapecl frame as before, having a connecting bar 43 and legs 44. Hinges 45 connect the connecting bar to the bottom edge of the enclosure cover 34. The legs of the support will have openings 46, and one may have a slot to receive the trunnions 21 of the roll-mounting member 22. The tissue roll will be flattened, as with the first form, and the legs of the roll support may be so shaped and proportioned that they fill the end spaces between the back and cover to completely enclose the tissue roll.

A keeper 48, notched as at 49, is mounted on the connecting bar of the roll support, and a ball type chain 54) is attached to the bottom edge of the enclosure back to engage the keeper and hold the cover in closed position.

With this form of the invention, after the tissue roll has been put in place the roll support is rotated upwardly about the hinges 45 to position the roll against the enclosure cover 34. The cover is pulled down, and the latch coupled by drawing the chain into the notch of the keeper. When it is desired to use the tissue, the chain is pulled, the cover will fly up and the tissue roll will rotate with its support to hang from the cover edge forwardly of the enclosure for easy access. The parts then will be in the position shown in FIGURE 5.

It will be evident that the unit shown in FIGURES 4 to 6 will be more costly to make than the form shown in FIGURES 1 to 3, but it lends itself to construction with quality materials to provide a heater, and more attractive, holder. It also opens so as to present the tissue roll so that it will be slightly more accessible and freer turning. The first form described has the advantages of cheapness of construction and simplicity of operation.

While two practical embodiments of the invention have been disclosed, it will be understood that the details of construction shown and described are merely by way of illustration, and the invention may take other forms within the scope of the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

1. A holder for rolls of toilet tissue comprising, an-

enclosure including back and cover members and a tissue roll support, the support having a top rail and depending legs at the ends of the rail, a top frame, means connecting the back and cover members at their top edges to the top frame with at least the cover member being hingedly connected, means hingedly connecting the top rail of the support to the bottom edge of the cover member whereby the support may be swung to position a tissue roll between the back and cover members, means to bias the cover member to open position away from the back member, and releasable latch means carried by the support top rail and the back member to releasably hold the enclosure in closed position.

2. A holder for rolls of toilet tissue as claimed in claim 1 wherein there is a mounting bracket connected to the top frame.

3. A holder for rolls of toilet tissue as claimed in claim 2 wherein the mounting bracket includes clamping legs capable of spreading movement away from one another, and means biasing the legs to spread position.

4. A holder for rolls of toilet tissue comprising, an enclosure including similar back and cover members and a mounting frame, the back and cover members being pivotally connected to the mounting frame to hang vertically downward from the mounting frame in spaced relation, means to support a tissue roll within the enclosure, means to bias the cover member away from the back member to a horizontal position to expose the tissue roll, and latch means to r'eleasably hold the cover and back members juxtaposed embracing the tissue roll, the means to support a tissue roll comprising a U-shaped support having spaced legs and a bridge member, the bridge member being hingedly connected along the free edge of the cover member to permit the support to swing upwardly between the back and cover members when the enclosure is closed, and to hang downwardly from the free edge of the cover member when the cover member is in open horizontal position, and means connectible to the support to mount a tissue roll.

5. A holder for rolls of toilet tissue as claimed in claim 4 wherein the legs of the tissue roll support form end members for the enclosure when the cover member is in closed position.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,112,512 Wood Oct. 6, 1914 1,326,085 Mylchreest Dec. 23, 1919 2,322,456 Krueger June 22, 1943 2,462,776 Price Feb. 22, 1949 2,576,526 Marchand a Nov. 27, 1951 2,601,956 Birr July 1, 1952 2,790,608 Sieven Apr. 30, 1957 2,872,124 Sieven Feb. 3, 1959 

1. A HOLDER FOR ROLLS OF TOILET TISSUE COMPRISING, AN ENCLOSURE INCLUDING BACK AND COVER MEMBERS AND A TISSUE ROLL SUPPORT, THE SUPPORT HAVING A TOP RAIL AND DEPENDING LEGS AT THE ENDS OF THE RAIL, A TOP FRAME, MEANS CONNECTING THE BACK AND COVER MEMBERS AT THEIR TOP EDGES TO THE TOP FRAME WITH AT LEAST THE COVER MEMBER BEING HINGEDLY CONNECTED, MEANS HINGEDLY CONNECTING THE TOP RAIL OF THE SUPPORT TO THE BOTTOM EDGE OF THE COVER MEMBER WHEREBY THE SUPPORT MAY BE SWUNG TO POSITION A TISSUE ROLL BETWEEN THE BACK AND COVER MEMBERS, MEANS TO BIAS THE COVER MEMBER TO OPEN POSITION AWAY FROM THE BACK MEMBER, AND RELEASABLE LATCH MEANS CARRIED BY THE SUPPORT TOP RAIL AND THE BACK MEMBER TO RELEASABLY HOLD THE ENCLOSURE IN CLOSED POSITION. 